Pokémon Emerald Version (Japanese: ポケットモンスターエメラルドPocket Monsters Emerald) is a sister game to Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and is the fifth and final Generation IIIcore series game. Like its predecessor, Pokémon Crystal, it added many features not present in the earlier paired versions. It was released in Japan on September 16, 2004, in North America on May 1, 2005, in Australia on June 9, 2005 and in Europe on October 21, 2005.

It was the second highest-selling video game of 2005 in North America. It was also the third best-selling game for the Game Boy Advance, losing to the other Generation III games, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire and Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen.

Blurb

The Hoenn region is unstable — Rayquaza has awakened! Your skills as a Trainer will be challenged like they've never been challenged before as you try to maintain balance between Kyogre & Groudon. Prove your skill by earning Badges & gaining access to Battle Frontier — the front line of Pokémon battling that offers a whole new level of competition. Never-before-experienced battles await you!

The third adventure with new episodes in the Hoenn region!

Tons of new features, including surprising plot twists and changes to where and how often you can catch certain Pokémon!

Changes from Ruby and Sapphire

Aesthetic changes

Vigoroth move boxes into Brendan's or May's house instead of Machoke (though the cries are not changed in the Japanese version due to an oversight, but this was corrected in the localizations), while a Zigzagoon replaces the Poochyena chasing Professor Birch.

Animated Pokémon front sprites return for the first time since Pokémon Crystal. This feature was defined as standard for the core series Pokémon games ever since. Emerald is also the first game to have animated back sprites.

Every Gym has received at least a slight renovation due to the addition of Trainers for the option of Double Battles. Some of these Gyms received complete overhauls in their designs, such as the Mossdeep Gym, which was given a new, rearranged puzzle that the player must navigate through. All Gyms now have the Badge mounted on the wall behind the Leader.

The color of the Champion's room at the Elite Four was recolored from its original shade of purple to blue.

Storyline changes

Both Team Magma and Team Aqua are featured as the villainous teams, each stirring trouble at different stages in the game. The objective of each team, to awaken Groudon and Kyogre, respectively, is eventually fulfilled.

Rayquaza is prominent plot-wise, awakened in order to stop the destructive battle between Groudon and Kyogre. It is the one out of the three ancient Pokémon that can be captured prior to the Elite Four challenge, while still at the same place and at the same high level as in Ruby and Sapphire.

Multi Battles are available outside link-cable battling. Featured in the Battle Tower with a computer player (or, using the Wireless Adapter, a human player), as well as at the Space Center stage of the game, battling alongside Steven.

Double Battles are more common as different Trainers can team up if the player is able to be spotted by two Trainers at once.

Gym Leaders may be rebattled in Double Battles, with new Pokémon on their teams that are not regularly found in Hoenn.

The Trainer's Eyes in the PokéNav is replaced by Match Call, which integrated a calling system similar to the Pokégear cellphone.

All the Gym Leaders from Ruby and Sapphire, including former Gym Leader Wallace, have upgraded Pokémon teams. The changes include the addition of Pokémon they did not have in Ruby and Sapphire, or in rare cases some of their previous Pokémon are removed from their team.

Emerald is the first game to have at least one of the Gym Leader's Pokémon hold onto an item.

A new Gym Leader in the Sootopolis Gym, Juan, while its former Gym Leader Wallace is now the Pokémon Champion.

The former Champion Steven can be fought in Meteor Falls after the Elite Four challenge, with all of his Pokémon at exactly 20 levels higher than in Ruby and Sapphire.

Scott, a new character introduced in Emerald, will meet the player numerous times throughout the game, ultimately inviting the player to the Battle Frontier after beating the Elite Four.

Area additions

The Fossils (Root Fossil, Claw Fossil) in the desert are now found in a short-lived tower called Mirage Tower that sinks into the ground once a Fossil is chosen. However, the other Fossil can now be acquired after the Elite Four challenge.

New areas within the Safari Zone and Desert Underpass, introducing 19 Pokémon native to Johto and Kanto. 12 of these Pokémon consist of Johto Pokémon that can only be found in this version other than the Johto Starters, Sudowoodo, and Smeargle, while the other 7 can also be found in FireRed and LeafGreen.

Terra Cave and Marine Cave, accessible only after defeating Elite Four, are home to Groudon and Kyogre, respectively. The caves are not fixed to one location, and in order to track them, it is necessary to investigate the unusual patterns concluded by the Weather Institute.

Due to the game using a modified version of the Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen engine, players can find hidden music in the games, including tracks originally used in Pokémon Gold, Silver, and Crystal utilizing the GameShark device.

While Team Aqua's hideout is at Lilycove City just like in Sapphire, Team Magma's hideout has been moved to a hidden cave at Jagged Pass and has been given a completely new design. Also, Team Magma Hideout is now where Groudon is first encountered.

Battles with the non-Hoenn legendary Pokémon (Mew, Lugia, Ho-Oh) use the music from battles with legendary Pokémon in FireRed and LeafGreen.

Missing Pokémon

These Hoenn Pokédex Pokémon are missing from Emerald and must be traded to the game from another Generation III game to be obtained. While wildSurskit can appear in Emerald, the player needs to mix records with a copy of Ruby or Sapphire in order for Surskit to appear by way of swarming; otherwise, Surskit cannot be legitimately caught without the aid of another game.

Reception

Many reviews criticized Emerald for being too similar to Ruby and Sapphire, with Game Informer stating that "there simply aren't enough changes to make this a must-buy."[4] However, IGN gave the game an "Impressive" rating of 8/10, stating that there are "special, newly-created treats sprinkled throughout the experience to make experiencing this repeat worthwhile."[5]

Several music tracks exclusive to Emerald went officially unreleased until 2012, when they were included with the official soundtrack of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2. These Emerald-exclusive tracks comprise tracks 1-17 of Disc 4 of the soundtrack.

Development cycle

Trivia

The game uses a faulty implementation of the pseudorandom number generator used in Generation III and IV games, which allows literally identical personality values for a Pokémon even after multiple resets. The game neglects to reseed the PRNG on startup (only doing so when the adventure is begun), which means that the personality values of an encountered Pokémon follow a predictable sequence once the seed is found and/or forced.